Posts Tagged ‘cold’

Deep in the heart of Bois de la Cambre (TerkamerenBos) on the edge of Uccle, Bruxelles Ville and Ixelles, there is an idyllic centre of calm and strange plant life that serves a decent brunch on sundays. The door is round on the far end of the building (many of the windows look like doors!)

We were 10 people, and had booked, but it was not actually very busy; it might have been because of the crazy rain we had! For 25 euros you have access to the buffet from 11am till 3pm (and I hear they have stayed later, but were finally kicked out at 4pm).

The buffet bar

There is a very decent selection of cold cuts, warm dishes, salads, breads and pastries, really good fresh juices… etc. I’m not sure how much changes each week, but will be going back to test it again for sure!

Herring

I was really pleased with their fresh fish. The herring was excellent, as was the salmon. The beef carpaccio was also good, served with shaved parmesan and a mustardy sauce. The salad was well dressed, but in a rather small bowl. The coffees were generous, although not included in the price, which I had misunderstood, but never mind.

Lait Russe

There were also warm dishes that I didnt photograph. They had canneloni, another meat dish with bacon and something else that I avoided. I had just had a BBQ the night before so I was more in the mood for salads and fish. Plus, of course, the desserts.

Pastries and bread

They also add a few specialities each time. Last time it was pancakes cooked in front of you. This time it was profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce.

Profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce

All these delights are served on Villeroy and Boch china, with their matching cutlery (frightfully chic, take a large bag and something to muffle the sound of you nicking one of their Bodum themo glasses)…. in fact those Bodum glasses are dangerous. You can’t feel the heat of your lovely fresh mint tea, so you burn your mouth.

I would suggest staying long enough to need to use the facilities, as the toilets are a tourist attraction in themselves. I won’t say any more, or the post will need a spoiler alert. Take a while to wander around and admire the fountain and the strange bottle of Absolut vodka near the door.

My only 1 negative point was that, since it is a serve yourself buffet, the waiters are much more involved chatting to each other or serving the few other guests who order a la carte. Getting their attention to order coffee/tea required really walking up to the bar. But its a small gripe.
It is off the beaten track, but I imagine in the summer it will get busy with people wanting to spend a day in the park. There were seats outside, but the joy of this sunday buffet was having the whole spread to ourselves!

Sorry for the hiatus, folks, but we expats take vacation on a Belgian schedule, too, sometimes. Before we come back, take a look at this great cone of creamy lemon ice cream I tasted recently over in Venice, something very different from all the icier sorbets and sherberts I’ve had in the past. Excellent stuff.

I would visit this sushi place again just for the dessert! Espace Sushi recently served up decent sushi and sashimi, but let’s forget that. Really it was the unique and delicious dessert there that stood out to me. Unusual twin scoops of ice cream graced the end of our meal: one flavored with green tea, including little flecks of crispy dried tea leaves, and the other with roasted sesame seed. For a tea fan, the green scoop tasted pretty good, with a distinct tea aroma and taste without being overpowering. As for the other scoop? Absolutely stellar. The rich nuttiness of the sesame came out subtly but strongly with each bite, and I wished I could take a pint home with me. Both scoops were not nearly as sweet as standard ice creams, but they were still very smooth and creamy. I don’t know where they got these flavors, or if the restaurant made it all themselves, but I liked it.

The ice cream went perfectly with the simple but delicious green tea cakes. Almost exotic, they were denser, cleaner, and much more subtle than the typical buttery cakes found elsewhere in Brussels, yet they still had a smooth texture and light sweetness to them. Just like the ice cream, each moist bite had a distinct scent and flavor of green tea. This restaurant apparently stayed true to the idea of sushi when it came to their desserts: keep the flavors and textures pure, uncommonly good, and exquisite.

I tried a dessert dish at the Häagen-Dazs cafe franchise by the Louise metro, ever packed with patrons even in the winter. They gave me a macadamia nut and white and dark chocolate warm cookie plated with one scoop of coffee-flavored fudge ice cream, a second of vanilla-caramel ice cream, and a dollop of whipped cream with chocolate sauce (~9 euros), along with a small cup of requisite water. I smelled the rich and sweet aroma of the confection. My expectations were high.

That cookie confounded me with the strangest pleasurable experience. I had expected a different flavor, perhaps because of memories of other treats from Hawaii to New York City, but it did not taste like any cookie I had before. It reminded me of extra-rich vanilla cupcake rather than a cookie because of its flavor and its fluffiness in the center. At the same time the gradually denser and crustier outer ring concentrated so much interestingly bright flavor into its textures that I could not stop myself from reflecting upon each morsel in my mouth. It contained sweetness, nuttiness, crunchiness from the flecks of roasted and crushed nuts coating the outside, nostalgic vanilla, and a tinge of saltiness that completed the circle. I wanted a cookie that I remembered and instead got one that created an entirely new memory.

As for the ice cream, I did not actually know one scoop was coffee-flavored when I ordered it, and I do not like like coffee and must recuse myself from judging it. My friend ate that. The vanilla ice cream was respectable, though nothing out of the ordinary. The cold of it contrasted well with the warm, sizable cookie.

I must try the chocolate fondue there when I have money to spare and the place is not crowded like a stable. Many queued to be seated, the place seemed extremely hectic, and the time to get our bill from the waitress annoyed us. However, if I can stand higher prices, corporate marketing, and an uncharming atmosphere that belies corporate chic, then some of the treats here really can satisfy some of my cravings.

Belgian ice cream never tasted so good. As a former ice cream shop employee, I have become somewhat the connoisseur of frozen treats. Out of all that I’ve tasted around here, Capoue is in the upper crust.

For the price, it had better be. One box of the homemade ice cream (~€6.50) has about 4-10 servings, depending on the strength of your sweet tooth, and is slightly smaller than what you can buy at the supermarket. What it may lack in quantity certainly is made up by quality. The truly Belgian speculoos ice cream is a personal favorite, though very sweet, as is the pistachio flavor that features a truly smooth and subtle nuttiness. I have not tried all the flavors in its long menu, nor have I eaten inside the dining space yet, but feel free to try them out for yourself.

Get a cone from the front window sometime for you and your friend, for just a few euros. Be and eat rich for a while.